Saradha Soobrayen studied Live Arts, Visual Arts and Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University. She is a passionate advocate for Libraries, Poetry and Human Rights and has worked as a Poetry Editor for the LGBT Chroma Journal and as a Reviews Editor and Trustee for Modern Poetry in Translation. Saradha has worked for Islington Libraries and  is currently working for the National Poetry Library at the Southbank Centre.

Saradha is a qualified Writing Coach and Creative Arts Mentor and Action Learning Facilitator. She has led seminars, writing workshops, mentoring and professional development for emerging poets and writers on the Chroma Journal’s Divine Mentoring Scheme and on Spread The Word’s Flight and mentored on Encompass: a facilitators training scheme. She has worked with disabled writers and artists as part of Shape’s Link Up Mentoring Scheme and has run advanced poetry surgeries for the Arvon Foundation. For news of the next round  of coaching sessions and  workshops visit the writing sofa 

Saradha is a trained Silver Arts Award Advisor and has worked on educational projects with young people as the mentor for Body and Soul and English Pen’s Speak for Yourself project and was the consultant poet on Set Poetry Free with IFBooK an online poetry schools resource and has recently worked with PHD artists at the Slade Art School.

 The Guardian named Saradha as one of the ‘Twelve to watch’, up and coming new generation of poets. She received an Eric Gregory Award in 2004 and was the poet representing Mauritius as part of the Southbank Center Poetry Parnassus Festival.

Reviews and essays have been published in Modern Poetry in Translation, Poetry Review and Wasafiri.

Short and experimental fiction appears in Kin: Three Flavours on a plate and Edgeways: ‘Thirteen ways to lose a Library card’ shortlisted  for the Spread The Word Writing Prize.

Poetry is featured in the Queer Brighton 2014, World Record 2012, Out of Bounds Anthology 2012, Red Anthology 2009, The Forward Anthology 2008, Oxford Poets Anthology 2007 and New Poetries IV, I am Twenty People! and This Little Stretch of Life.

Saradha is currently developing a multidisciplinary collaborative project Sounds Like Root Shock a poetic inquiry into the depopulation of the Chagos Archipelago.  At it’s heart lies a 2000 line composite poem that acts as reminder of the islanders who were forcibly removed in the 1960-70s and acknowledges their unrecognised ancestors and cultural heritage dating back to the 18th Century.